Toyota Escapes to Texas

Another engine of middle-class jobs flees California.

Updated May 4, 2014 4:54 p.m. ET

Governor Jerry Brown's California comeback tour was rudely interrupted this week by news that Torrance-based Toyota is moving to Plano, Texas. The runaway car maker shines a headlight on how the South is overtaking California as a commercial and industrial power.

In addition to its sales headquarters, Toyota says it plans to move 3,000 professional jobs to the Dallas suburb to centralize operations and improve efficiency. Toyota established its first U.S. offices in Los Angeles in 1957 because of its proximity to southern...